Thursday, December 9, 2010

Starbucks vs. Dunkin' Donuts


Until just recently in my 20 year old life, I haven’t been much of a coffee drinker. Then I came to college where some people live on coffee and I figured I’d try to see if I liked it. After I figured out that coffee can actually be tasty if I added some things to it, I began drinking coffee on a daily basis. Coffee from Mocha Joe’s was what I usually went with, and now it’s more with Café Ole. But my favorite coffee is a hazelnut coffee with cream and sugar from Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s the best. Not only is this coffee good, but it’s fairly inexpensive. I can buy two coffees from Dunkin’ Donuts for less than the price of one from Starbucks. Which leads me to my next point…

It seems as though so many people are diehard fans of Starbucks coffee, like it’s the only good coffee on the earth. I’ve tried hazelnut coffee with cream and sugar at Starbucks and it made me want to sort of vomit. I will admit that I have tried the seasonal drinks from Starbucks like the pumpkin spice latte and the peppermint mocha, and I loved them both. The downside of those drinks is the cost. They’re more expensive than I’m willing to pay for usually. I did, however, purchase a peppermint mocha on Sunday for my birthday because that was the only way I could justify paying almost $5 for a small hot beverage.

I'll stick with Dunkin' Donuts coffee on a regular basis and Starbucks coffee on rare occasions.

4 comments:

  1. I could not agree with your post more. The battle between Starbucks and other coffee vendors is brutal. I struggle with deciding where to purchase my coffee frequently. I, too, enjoy the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. It is just extremely difficult to pay almost $5 for a beverage. I actually had not tried Dunkin' Donuts coffee before so I decided tonight would be the night. I went to Dunkin' Donuts in Anderson to find that the machine was down so I could not get a coffee. After making a trip in desperate need of a coffee and not being able to purchase what I wanted makes me a little more sure of my future decisions. I believe, in the future, when I am in desperate need of a latte I will most likely purchase the Starbucks, more expensive, coffee that I can rely on.

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  2. I find this post really interesting in that, to a certain degree, I had not been an avid consumer of coffee; it all started about two summers ago.
    Growing up, I found coffee to be tasteless and not a big fan of its effects. To a great extent, the culture I was brought up in played a significant role in my perception of coffee. There is a strong influence of British culture, and if you know anything about the British, it's that they love a good cup of tea. And so, tea was a big part of my life growing up, and prior to college.
    Two summers ago, I worked a job that required me to be up very early in the morning, and to cope with that, I began drinking coffee. I now drink coffee on a daily basis, and sadly, more than I do tea.
    I find myself in the same predicament of whether or not to spend so much on a cup of coffee, usually, I am content with coffee from Cafe Ole, with a Hazelnut creamer and sugar, and every once in a while, I don't mind spending for a good cup of coffee.
    All this to say, the price, as well as how we perceive products have played a significant role in my choice of beverage.

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  3. As a fellow Dunkin' Donuts fan, I find this to be pretty interesting. Their coffee is just so good and really not that expensive, compared to Starbucks coffee. I mean, I do like Starbucks. Their drinks are good, but way out of my price range... so why buy a four or five dollar coffee when I can get twice as much for about half the price at Dunkin' Donuts? I also feel like drinking Starbucks is kind of a status thing, and I'm not all about that.

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  4. I would have to disagree with your outlook on Starbucks, I think its because I grew up in a Starbucks loving household, and similar to you I have been drinking coffee from a very young age. It seems unnatural to even think to go to Dunkin’ Donuts for anything but donuts in my perspective. However I have read that their coffee is preferred worldwide, and can respect that. I love everything about Starbucks, except for their prices sometimes. My mother loves their coffee, and so do both of my younger sisters. We also love their coffee mugs, and other various assortment of coffee based merchandise. The couches and homey feel and cozy atmosphere are also not something to forget about. There are many good memories and good conversation with my family and friends in the comforts of Starbucks, and although I respect not loving Starbucks, it will remain a favorite in my book.

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